The Tale of a Hero
by Lord Periwinkle
Summary: One day, during the time that Percy Jackson is missing, his English class gets a huge surprise-two demigods straight from Hell, five mourning ones, and two past ones. Now, Percy is the least respected person in the school, even when he went missing. Can that all change with one book and a decree from the gods above?(No OC demigods, only students)
1. Prolouge

"Who can tell me who Mary Oliver is?" It was first period. Paul Blofis, English teacher at Goode High, was teaching his class when his eyes strayed to the back left corner of the room. A pang went through his chest. His step-son, Percy Jackson, would have usually occupied, had he not been missing at the moment. Percy had gone missing four months previously, and it was now late December. Paul sighed. What he wouldn't give to have Percy safe here, at his desk, trying to focus in English class because he was a demigod, which meant ADHD and dyslexia. "Um Mr. Blofis?" asked a timid girl, Natalie Rookwood. "Hmmm?" Paul realized that he'd been staring at Percy's old desk, thinking, for the last five minutes. His cheeks colored slightly, and he cleared his throat. "Right, so Mary Oliver was a-" He was cut off by a white flash that blinded them all. When it cleared, everyone in the room gasped in shock. Five people that no one there had ever seen before stood at the front of the room, next to Paul's desk. A Latino boy who looked like he was mourning someone close to him looked around, then said in a hoarse voice, "Where are we?" Paul cleared his throat again. Everyone turned to him. "I think the better question is who are you?" A big guy with a baby face stepped forward, making the kids flinch back slightly. "We're Frank, Hazel, Piper, Jason, and Leo," he said, pointing to each person as he said their names. "Ok, now why are you here?" Hazel huffed. "First, I'd like to know where 'here' is. We were just on our ship when we got flashed into here." "'Here' is Goode High School. Now, what ship? Wait, wait. Are-are you friends of Percy's?" As the five nodded, Paul's breath caught in his throat. Jason was staring out of the window. "Is that _snow_?" He asked, disbelief coating his voice. "Yeah, that's what happens in winter, weirdo." said a snotty kid, Leon. "What's the date?" asked Piper sharply, looking out the window cautiously. After being told that it was December 19th, the demigods stared at each other. "But-but it's supposed to be _July_!" "We must have gone back in time!" "Yes but _how_?" "Never mind _how_, what about _why_?" As the others argued, Leo was staring at something that was hanging in mid air. A scroll. Grabbing it, he unrolled it, causing everyone to look at him at the sound. "What is that?" asked Jason. "A message from the Gods," Leo murmured. Leon snorted again. " The _Gods_? Oh, man, are you guys high or something?" "No," snapped Piper. They all had short tempers because of the recent loss of Percy and Annabeth. Frank turned into a lion, Jason floated Piper and himself in the air, Hazel summoned a lump of gold and made it disappear, and Leo let himself catch on fire. "Do you believe in the Gods now? 'Cause I hate to break it to you, but they're real. And we're their children." The class nodded dumbly. "Now what does that scroll say, Leo?" "_Dear demigods and mortals,_" he read out. _"It has come to the attention of the Olympian counsel that the events against the war with Gaea are off track. To help put them back on the track, we are sending you a book to read about the missing Hero, Percy Jackson. You are to read this book, then we will decide what to do from there. There is also another purpose to this book. It seems that no one in this school has any respect for this demigods Hero and that needs to change. The verbal abuse and attempted physical harm MUST stop and be dealt with. You will not be able to leave this room, and while it may seem that it changes from day to night, no time will actually pass. Sincerely, the Olympians. P.S., you will be receiving two more guests soon and you should not start without them. _ Leo lowered the note, and Hazel narrowed her eyes. "Verbal abuse and attempted physical harm? You bullied him?" Hazel's outburst seemed to snap Paul out of a stupor. "I can't believe it," he muttered. "I can't believe he didn't tell me." How could someone, let alone a whole class, bully sweet innocent Percy? Well, Paul knew he wasn't innocent, he'd seen and commanded a war! But Percy just had a lovable, sweet persona that made him seem innocent. "Why would he tell you? Do you know him?" said Jason.

"I'm his step-dad," answered Paul, frowning. He turned to his class. "We're going to read this book, but first I want to tell you something. I am very disappointed in all of you. Percy has already seen many horrors in his lifetime and being bullied and hated isn't going to help him any. Now, I want you to think about that while we wait for the other two people."

* * *

About twenty minutes later, there was another bright flash and two giggling figures holding pillows appeared. They hadn't seemed to notice that they were now in a locked classroom full of people, but continued with their pillow fight. "Hiya!" shouted a girl with long blonde hair tied up in a ponytail. She wacked the other with her pillow, and he laughed. "You'll have to do better than that!" The boy with black hair tackled the girl, then kneeled over her hips, tickling her stomach mercilessly. "S-stop it! C-cut it out, Seaw-weed Brain!" she laughed. The other demigods had frozen, staring at the two. They were both very familiar, but younger then any of them had ever seen them. It couldn't be, they had just watched them fall into Hell a little over two hours ago... Paul stared. "_Percy_?" he asked faintly. The black haired boy looked up and started. "Woah," he said getting off of the girl, who pushed herself up and looked around with intelligent grey eyes. "This is _so_ not my cabin."


	2. Prolouge II

Every eye was turned to the two children. "Who are you guys?" asked Percy, curiosity sparkling brightly in his sea green eyes.  
Seeing as the teenagers in the room seemed unable to speak, Paul explained to the younger versions of Percy and Annabeth that they were sent forward in time and they had to read a book from their future and everyone else's past.  
To say that they were shocked was an understatement. Percy just stared at him with a slightly confused expression on his face before sighing and putting a hand over Annabeth's mouth. Annabeth had started chattering away about a bunch of scientific stuff that no one understood. "It's really annoying when you do that, you know," he told her, ignoring her glare. Removing his hand, Percy turned back to Paul with a suspicious look on his face. "So, you mean to tell me that I'm some big hero and we've gone forward in time? And you're my step-dad?" When Paul nodded, Percy looked thoughtful. "I don't know about you, Mr. Blofis, but you _have_ to be better than Gabe. You have to be."  
Paul looked at him curiously, but he knew not to push. Percy was a very private person, and he doubted that he would open up in five minutes.  
Leon seemed to come out of his shocked stage. It wasn't every day that your arch enemy turned up as a little kid, after all. "Hey, Jackson, come here for a second." And before Paul could warn Percy that Leon was not one of his friends, he moved toward him.  
Leon considered Percy for a moment, then said in a gruff voice; "Even as a kid, you were a worthless freak." Before Percy could react to this statement, Leon reached out and punched Percy square in the jaw, knocking him to the ground.  
Many of the other teens in the room made angry noises, and Paul stepped forward to yell at him for hitting a child, but a streak of blonde rushed past him. Annabeth landed a kick to Leon's stomach and a punch to his face before Percy got up a pulled her off. "I've got this," he said to her quietly. Turning back to Leon, who was now on the ground glaring at him, Percy flicked his wrist at a spurt of water rose from someone's water bottle. Ignoring the shocked gasps from his future classmates, he manipulated the water so that it circled around Leon's wrists and pulled them together, the little bit of slack going around the desk pole.  
"Let me go, you little freak!" yelled Leon, trying to pull free, but the bonds did not give.  
Ignoring him, Percy turned back to Paul. "So what's the date now?"  
Paul informed him of the date, taking in Percy's appearance. He looked healthy, and he still had muscle, but they weren't as pronounced as they would be in a few years. Now that things had settled down, he saw that both kids were wearing pajamas, but Paul let it slide, knowing that they wouldn't do... stuff.  
Thinking that it might be just a little bit awkward to have the demigods not knowing anybody, Paul said, "Ok, everyone, ten minutes to mingle. No harming one another, got it?" he added, looking at Leon. Everyone nodded, then the classroom filled with chatter as Paul sat at his desk, staring at the scroll as it turned into a book. As he studied the cover, the title caught his eye.  
_Percy Jackson and the Olympians, The Last Olympian._


	3. I Go Cruising With Explosives

Paul looked down at the book it his hand. The ten minutes had passed, and now everyone was looking at him expectantly. Clearing his throat, he read the chapter title. "**I Go Cruising With Explosives**," Everyone turned to Percy, who exclaimed, "Cool!" ** The end of the world started when a Pegasus landed on the hood of my car.**

"Ok, then," said Sam. "I have a car?" Paul laughed. "No." "Aw, man!"

** Up until then, I was having a great afternoon. Technically, I wasn't supposed to be driving because I wouldn't turn sixteen for another week, but my mom and my stepdad, Paul, took my friend Rachel and me **

"Who's Rachel?" asked Percy and Annabeth together. "Hey! Stop doing that! No, you stop! Ugh! What are you laughing at?" They turned to face a room full of laughing people, and their faces turned red. "Whatever. Oh, come on!"

** to this private stretch of beach on the South Shore, and Paul let us borrow his Prius for a short spin.**

"That's really irresponsible, Mr. Blofis!" said Sara, in an almost scolding tone. Paul laughed as he read the next line.

** Now I know what you're thinking, **_**wow, that was really irresponsible of him, blah, blah, blah, **_

Sara blushed.

** but Paul knows me pretty well. He's seen me slice up demons and leap out of exploding school buildings, so he figured taking a car a few hundred yards wasn't exactly the most dangerous thing I've ever done.**

"Definitely not."

** Anyway, Rachel and I were driving along. It was a hot August day. Rachel's red hair was pulled back in a ponytail and she wore a white blouse over her swimsuit. I'd never seen her in anything but ratty T-shirts and paint-splattered jeans before, and she looked like a million golden drachmas.**

Annabeth raised her eyebrow.

"**Oh, pull up right there!" she told me. We parked on a ridge overlooking the Atlantic. The sea is always one of my favorite places, but today it was especially nice – glittery green and smooth as glass, as though my dad was keeping it calm just for us. My dad, by the way, is Poseidon. He can do stuff like that.**

Michael snorted. "No shit." "Language," said Paul.

**"So." Rachel smiled at me. "About that invitation." "Oh… right." I tried to sound excited. I mean, she'd asked me to her family's vacation house on the St. Thomas for three days. **

"Wow!"

** I didn't get a lot of offers like that. My family's idea of a fancy vacation was a rundown cabin on Long Island with some movie rentals and a couple of frozen pizzas, and here Rachel's folks were willing to let me tag along to the Caribbean. Besides, I seriously needed a vacation. This summer had been the hardest of my life. The idea of taking a break even for a few days was really tempting. Still, something really big was supposed to go down any day now. I was "on call" for a mission. Even worse, next week was my birthday. There was this prophecy that said that when I turned sixteen, bad things would happen. "Percy," she said, "I know the timing is bad. But it's **_**always**_** bad for you, right?" She had a point. "I really want to go," I promised. "It's just–" "The war?"**

"War!?" yelped the young demigods. They didn't even complain about the joined speaking, they just looked at the older demigods. Piper sighed. "Yeah, there was a war. Against Kronos." Percy and Annabeth looked at each other, shocked. "So, he actually managed to put himself back together?" No one answered.

** I nodded. I didn't like talking about it, but Rachel knew. Unlike most mortals, she could see through the mist – the magic veil that distorts human vision. She'd seen monsters. She'd met some of the other demigods who were fighting the Titans and their allies. She'd even been there last summer when the chopped-up Lord Kronos rose out of his coffin in a terrible new form, and she'd earned my permanent respect by nailing him in the eye with a blue plastic hairbrush.**

"She did what?" Many students who had known Rachel were laughing, that did seem her style.

** She put her hand on my arm. "Just think about it, ok? We don't leave for a couple of days. My dad…" Her voice faltered. "Is he giving you a hard time?" I asked. Rachel shook her head in disgust. "He's trying to be **_**nice**_** to me, which is almost worse. He wants me to go to Clarion Ladies Academy in the fall." "The school where your mom went?" **"**It's a stupid finishing school for society girls, all the way in New Hampshire. Can you see me in a finishing school?" I had to admit the idea sounded pretty dumb. Rachel was into urban arts projects and feeding the homeless and going to protest rallies to "Save the Endangered Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker" and stuff like that. I'd never seen her wear a dress. It was hard to imagine her learning to be a socialite. She sighed. "He thinks that if he does a bunch of nice stuff for me, I'll feel guilty and give in." **"**Which is why he agreed to let me come with you guys on vacation?" **"**Yes… but Percy you'd be doing me a huge favor. It would be so much better if you were with us. Besides, there's something I wanted to talk–" She stopped abruptly. **"**Something you wanted to talk about?" I asked. "You mean… so serious that we'd have to go to St. Thomas to talk about it?"**

"Oblivious," Lexi muttered. It was so obvious that she liked him!

** She pursed her lips. "Look, just forget it for now. Let's pretend we're a couple of normal people. We're out for a drive, and we're watching the ocean, and it's nice to be together." I could tell something was bothering her, but she put on a brave smile. The sunlight made her hair look like fire.**

"As long as it's not _on_ fire."

** We'd spent a lot of time together this summer. I hadn't exactly planned it that way, but the more serious things got at camp, the more I found myself needing to call up Rachel and get away, just for some breathing room. I needed to remind myself that the mortal world was still out there, away from all the monsters using me as their personal punching bag. **"**Okay," I said. "Just a normal afternoon and two normal people. She nodded. "And so… hypothetically, if these two people liked each other, what would it take to get the stupid guy to kiss the girl, huh?"**

Annabeth frowned. Paul noticed this and internally laughed at Percy's flushed face. "**Oh…" I felt like one of Apollo's sacred cows – slow, dumb, and bright red. "Um…"**

"Very intelligent, Seaweed Brain." Annabeth said, momentarily forgetting that the comments had been in response to a request for a kiss. "Seaweed Brain, huh?" said Helen, the classroom's shallow girl, knowingly.

** I can't pretend that I hadn't thought about Rachel. She was so much easier to be around than… well, some other girls I knew. I didn't have to work hard, or watch what I said, or rack my brain trying to figure out what she was thinking. Rachel didn't hide much. She let you know how she felt.**

Annabeth's frown deepened.

** I'm not sure what I would have done next – but I was so distracted, I didn't notice the huge black form swooping down from the sky until four hooves landed on the hood of the Prius with a **_**WUMP–WUMP–CRUNCH**_**. **_**Hey boss,**_** a voice said in my head, **_**nice car!**_

"What?"

** Blackjack the Pegasus was an old friend of mine,** Percy frowned. "I don't know a Pegasus named Blackjack." He paused, looking thoughtful. "Do you think that it was that black Pegasus from Luke's ship?" Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Be logical, Percy. That Pegasus is wild. Who knows where it went?" **so I tried not to get to annoyed by the craters he'd just put in the hood; but I didn't think my stepdad would be real stoked.**

Paul snorted. "I wasn't."

"**Blackjack," I sighed, "What are you–" Then, I saw who was riding on his back, and I knew my day was about to get a lot more complicated. **"**Sup, Percy." Charles Beckendorf, senior counselor for the Hephaestus cabin, would make most monsters cry for their mommies. He was huge, with ripped muscles from working on the forges every summer, two years older than me, and one of the camps best armor smiths. He made some seriously ingenious mechanical stuff. A month before, he'd rigged a Greek firebomb in the bathroom of a tour bus that was carrying a bunch of monsters across the country. The explosion took out a whole legion of Kronos's evil meanies as soon as the firs harpy went **_**flush**_**.**

Everyone laughed, and the older demigods looked at each other. Same old Percy.

** Beckendorf was dressed for combat. He wore a bronze breastplate and a war helm with black camo pants and a sword strapped to his side. His explosives bad was slung over his shoulder.** "How do you guys carry around all of that stuff? It's got to be around twenty-five pounds!" said Nathan. Percy shrugged. "He went light." **"Time?" I asked. He nodded grimly. A clump formed in my throat. I'd known this was happen. We'd been planning it for weeks, but I'd half hoped it would never happen. Rachel looked up at Beckendorf. "Hi." "Oh, hey. I'm Beckendorf. You must be Rachel. Percy's told me… uh, he mentioned you." Rachel raised and eyebrow. "Really? Good." She glanced at Blackjack, who was clopping his hooves against the hood of the Prius. "So I guess you guys have to go save the world now." "Pretty much," Beckendorf agreed. I looked at Rachel helplessly. "Would you tell my mom–" "I'll tell her. I'm sure she's used to it. And I'll explain to Paul about the hood." I nodded my thanks. I figured this would be the last time Paul loaned me his car.** Percy looked at Paul expectantly. "What?" he said, shifting slightly uncomfortably. Percy's eyes could be a little unnerving sometimes. "Was it the last time?" Paul thought for a minute. "We'll see." **"Good luck," Rachel kissed me before I could even react. "Now get going, half-blood. Go kill some monsters for me."**

Annabeth scowled at Percy, who's face was flushed.

** My last view of her was sitting in the shotgun seat of the Prius, her arms crossed, watching as Blackjack circled higher and higher, carrying Beckendorf and me into the sky. I wondered what Rachel wanted to talk to me about, and whether I would live long enough to find out. **"**So," Beckendorf said, "I'm guessing you don't want me to mention that little scene to Annabeth." **"**Oh gods," I muttered, "Don't even think about it."**

She raised her eyebrow at Percy, who looked at her sheepishly.

** Beckendorf chuckled, and together we soared out over the Atlantic. **"That sounded gay," said Thomas, ignoring the odd looks he got.

** It was almost dark by the time we spotted our target. The **_**Princess Andromeda**_** glowed on the horizon–a huge cruise ship lit up in yellow and white. From a distance, you'd think it was just a party ship, not the headquarters for the Titan lord. Then, as you got closer, you might notice the giant figurehead–a dark-haired maiden in a chiton, wrapped in chains with a look of horror on her face, as if she could smell the stench of all the monsters she was being forced to carry.** Annabeth rolled her eyes. Seaweed Brain.

** Seeing the ship again twisted my stomach in knots. I'd almost died twice on the **_**Princess Andromeda**_**. Now it was headed for New York.**

"Twice?"

"**You know what to do?" Beckendorf yelled over the wind. I nodded. We'd done dry runs at the dockyards in New Jersey, using abandoned ships as our targets. I knew how little time we would have. But I also knew this was our best chance to end Kronos's invasion before it ever started. **"**Blackjack," I said, "Set us down on the lowest stern deck. **_**Gotcha, boss,**_** he said. **_**Man, I hate seeing that boat**_**. Three years ago, Blackjack had been enslaved on the **_**Princess Andromeda **_**until he'd escaped with a little help from my friends and me. I figured he'd rather have his mane braided like My Little Pony than be back here again.**

Percy smirked. "Told you,"

"**Don't wait for us," I told him. **_**But boss**_**– **"**Trust me," I said, "We'll get out by ourselves."Blackjack folded his wings and plummeted toward the boat like a black comet. The wind whistled in my ears. I saw monsters patrolling the upper decks of the ship–**_**dracaenae**_** snake-women, hellhounds, giants, and the humanoid seal-demons known as telkhines–but we zipped by so fast none of them raised the alarm. We shot down to the stern of the boat, and Blackjack spread his wings, lightly coming to a landing on the lowest deck. I climbed off, feeling queasy.**

"Not the time to be queasy," muttered Lavender.

_** Good luck, boss,**_** Blackjack said. **_**Don't let 'em turn you into horse meat! **_**With that, my old friend flew off into the night. I pulled out my pen and uncapped it, and Riptide sprang to life–three feet of deadly Celestial bronze glowing in the dusk. Beckendorf pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket. I thought it was a map or something. Then I realized it was a photograph. He stared at it in the dim light- the smiling face of Silena Beauregard, daughter of Aphrodite. They'd started going out last summer, after years of the rest of us saying "Duh, you guys like each other!" Even with all the dangerous missions, Beckendorf had been happier this summer than I'd ever seen him. **

"That's sweet."

** "We'll make it back to camp," I promised. For a second I saw worry in his eyes. Then he put on his old confident smile. "You bet," he said. "Let's go blow Kronos back into a million of pieces." Beckendorf led the way. We followed a narrow corridor to the service stairwell, just like we'd practiced, but we froze when we heard noises above us."I don't care what your noses says!" snarled a half-human, half-dog voice- a telkhine. "The last time you smelled half-blood, it turned out to be a meat loaf sandwich!" "Meat loaf sandwiches are good!" a second voice snarled. "But this is half-blood scent, I swear. They are on board!" "Bah, your **_**brain**_** isn't on board!" **

Cue laughter.

**They continued to argue, and Beckendorf pointed downstairs. We descended as quietly as we could. Two floors down, the voices of the telkhines started to fade. Finally, we came to a metal hatch. Beckendorf mouthed the words "engine room." It was locked, but Beckendorf pulled some chain cutters out of his bag and split the bolt like it was made of butter. Inside, a row of yellow turbines the size of grain silos churned and hummed. Pressure gauges and computer terminals lined the opposite wall. A telkhine was hunched over a console, but he was so involved with his work, he didn't notice us. He was about five feet tall, with slick black seal fur and stubby little feet. He had the head of a Doberman, but his clawed hands were almost human. He growled and muttered as he tapped on his keyboard. Maybe he was messaging his friends on **

Cue eye rolls.

** I stepped forward, and he tensed, probably smelling something wrong. He leaped sideways toward a big red alarm button, but I blocked his path. He hissed and lunged at me, but one slice of Riptide, and he exploded into dust. "One down," Beckendorf said. "About five thousand to go." He tossed me a jar of thick green liquid- Greek fire, one of the most dangerous magical substances in the world. The he threw me another essential tool of the demigod heroes- duct tape. Slapthat one on the console," he said. "I'll get the turbines." We went to work. The room was hot and humid, and in no time we were drenched in sweat. **

"Ew." said Helen, scrunching up her nose.

** The boat kept chugging along. Being the son of Poseidon and all, I have perfect bearings at sea. Don't ask me how, but I could tell we were at 40.19 North, 71.90 West, making eighteen knots, which meant the ship would arrive in New York Harbor by dawn. This would be our only chance to stop it. **

Paul frowned.

** I had just attached a second jar of Greek fire to the control panels when I heard the pounding of feet on metal steps- so many creatures coming down the stairwell I could hear them over the engines. Not a good sign. I locked eyes with Beckendorf. "How much longer?" "Too long." He tapped his watch, which was our remote control detonator. "I still have to wire the receiver and prime the charges. Ten more minutes at least." Judging from the sound of the footsteps, we had about ten seconds. "I'll distract them," I said. "Meet you at the rendezvous point." "Percy-" "Wish me luck." He looked like he wanted to argue. The whole idea had been to get in and out without being spotted. But we were going to have to improvise. "Good luck," he said. I charged out the door. A half dozen telkhines were tromping down the stairs. I cut through them with Riptide faster than they could yelp. I kept climbing – past another telkhine, who was so started he dropped his Lil' Demons lunch box. I left him alive- partly because his lunch box was cool, partly so he could raise the alarm and hopefully get his friends to follow me rather than head towards the engine room.**

_That's so selfless,_ thought McKenzie. She was starting to feel slightly guilty about how she'd treated Percy.

** I burst through a door onto deck six and kept running. I'm sure the carpeted hall had once been very plush, but over the last three years of monster occupation the wallpaper, carpet, and stateroom had been clawed up and slimed so it looked like the inside of a dragon's throat (and yes, unfortunately, I speak from experience.)**

Everyone, even Annabeth stared at Percy. "I don't know!" he exclaimed after several moments of silence.

** Back on my first visit to the **_**Princess Andromeda**_**, my old enemy Luke had kept some dazed tourist on board for show, shrouded in Mist so they didn't realize they were on a monster-infested ship. Now I didn't see any sign of tourists. I hated to think what had happened to them, but I kind of doubted they'd been allowed to go home with their bingo winnings.**

The mortals shuddered. They didn't want to think about what would've happened if _they_ had been on that cruise.

** I reached the promenade, a big shopping mall that took up the whole middle of the ship, and I stopped the middle of the courtyard stood a fountain. And in the fountain squatted a giant crab. I'm not talking "giant" like $7.99 all-you-can-eat Alaskan king crab. I'm talking **_**giant**_** like bigger than the fountain. The monster rose ten feet out of the water. Its shell was mottled blue and green, its pincers longer than my body. If you've ever seen a crab's mouth, all foamy and gross with whiskers and snapping bits, you can imagine this one didn't look any better blown up to billboard size. **

Many people's eyes widened.

** Its beady black eyes glared at me, and I could see intelligence in them- and hate. The fact that I was the son of the sea god was not going to win me any points with Mr. Crabby. "**_**FFFFfffffff**_**," it hissed, sea foam dripping from its mouth. The smell coming off it was like garbage can full of fish sticks that had been sitting in the sun all week. Alarms blared. Soon I was going to have lots of company and I had to keep moving. "Hey, crabby." I inched around the edge of the courtyard. "I'm just gonna scoot around you so-" The crab moved with amazing speed. It scuttled out of the fountain and came straight at me, pincers snapping. I dove into a gift shop, plowing through a rack if T-shirts. A crab pincer smashed the glass walls to pieces and raked across the room. I dashed back outside, breathing heavily, but Mr. Crabby turned and followed. "There!" a voice said from a balcony about me. "Intruder!" If I'd wanted to create a distraction, I'd succeeded, but this was not where I wanted to fight. If I got pinned down in the center of the ship, I was crab chow. The demonic crustacean lunged at me. I sliced with Riptide, taking off the tip of its claw. It hissed and foamed, but didn't seem very hurt. I tried to remember anything from the old stories that might help with this thing. Annabeth had told me about a monster crab- something about Hercules crushing it under his big food? That wasn't going to work here. This crab was slightly bigger than my Reeboks. **

"Only _slightly_," said Annabeth sarcastically against bales of laughter.

** Then a weird thought occurred to me. Last Christmas, my mom and I had brought Paul Blofis to our old cabin at Montauk, where we'd been going forever. Paul had taken me crabbing, and when he'd brought up a net full of the things, he'd shown me how crabs have a chink in their armor, right in the middle of their ugly bellies. **

Paul smiled at Percy. It was nice that he'd been able to help, even if it was in some weird, unlikely way.

** The only problem was getting to the ugly belly. I glanced at the fountain, then at the marble floor, already slick from scuttling crab tracks. I held out my hand, concentrating on the water, and the fountain exploded. Water sprayed everywhere, three stories high, dousing the balconies and the elevators and the windows of the shops. The crab didn't care. It loved water. It came at me sideways, snapping and hissing, and I ran straight at it, screaming, "AHHHHHHH!" **

"What kind of battle cry is that?" asked Leon snottily. He was ignored.

** Just before we collided, I hit the ground baseball-style and slid on the wet marble floor straight under the creature. It was like sliding under a seven-ton armored vehicle. All the crab had to do was sit and squash me, but before it realized what I was going on, I jabbed Riptide into the chink in its armor, let go of the hilt, and pushed myself out the backside. **

"Whoa."

** The monster shuddered and hissed. Its eyes dissolved. Its shell turned bright red as its insides evaporated. The empty shell clattered to the floor in a massive heap. I didn't have time to admire my handiwork. I ran for the nearest stairs while all around me monsters and demigods shouted orders and strapped on their weapons. I was empty-handed. Riptide, being magic, would appear in my pocket sooner or later, but for now it was stuck somewhere under the wreckage of the crab, and I had no time to retrieve it.**

Many eyes widened. Again.

** In the elevator foyer on deck eight, a couple of dracaenae slithered across my path. From the waist up, they were woman with green scaly skin, yellow eyes, and forked tongues. From the waist down, they had double snake trunks instead of legs. They held spears and weighted nets, and I knew from experience they could use them. "What isss thisss?" one said. "A prize for Kronosss!" I wasn't in the mood to play break-the-snake, but in front of me was a stand with a model of the ship, like a YOU ARE HERE display. I ripped the model off the pedestal and hurled it at the first****_ dracaena. _****The boat smacked her in the face and she went down with the ship. **

"Whooo!" cheered Nick. Percy went red.

** I jumped over her, grabbed her friend's spear, and swung her around. She slammed into the elevator, and I kept running toward the front of the ship. ** "Nice."

** "Get him!" she screamed. Hellhounds bayed. An arrow from somewhere whizzed past my face and impaled itself in the mahogany-paneled wall of the stairwell. As I was running up the stairwell, a kid charged down. He looked like he'd just woken up from a nap. His armor was half on. He drew his sword and yelled, "Kronos!" but he sounded more scared than angry. He couldn't have been more than twelve- about the same age I was when I'd first arrived at Camp Half-Blood. That thought depressed me. This kid was getting brainwashed – trained to hate the gods and lash out because he'd been born half Olympian. Kronos was using him, and yet the kid thought I was his enemy. **

Percy frowned.

** No way was I going to hurt him. I didn't need a weapon for this. I stepped inside his strike and grabbed his wrist, slamming it against the wall. His sword clattered out of his hand. Then I did something I hadn't planned on. It was probably stupid. It definitely jeopardized our mission, but I couldn't help it. "If you want to live, "I told him, "get off this ship now. Tell the other demigods." Then I shoved him down the stairs and sent him tumbling to the next door. I kept climbing. Bad memories: a hallway ran past the cafeteria. Annabeth, my half brother Tyson, and I had sneaked through here three years ago on my first visit. I burst outside onto the main deck. Off the port bow, the sky was darkening from purple to black. A swimming pool glowed between two glass towers with more balconies and restaurant decks. The whole upper ship seemed eerily deserted. All I had to do was cross to the other side. Then I could take the staircase down to the helipad- our emergency rendezvous point. With any luck, Beckendorf would meet me there. We'd jump into the sea. My water powers would protect us both, and we'd detonate the charges from a quarter mile away. **

Paul frowned, realizing that it didn't turn out that way.

** I was halfway across the deck when the sound of a voice made me freeze. "You're late, Percy." Luke stood on the balcony above me, a smile on his scarred face. He wore jeans, a white T-shirt, and flip-flops, like he was just a normal college guy, but his eyes told the truth. They were solid gold. "We've been expecting you for days." At first he sounded normal, like Luke. But then his face twitched. A shudder passed through his body as though he'd just drunk something really nasty. His voice became heavier, ancient, and powerful- the voice of the Titan lord Kronos. The words scraped down my spine like a knife blade. "Come, bow before me." **

Annabeth and the other demigods snorted. They knew Percy, and he would never bow to Kronos.

** "Yeah, that'll happen," I muttered. Laistrygonian giants filed in on either side of the swimming pool as if they'd been waiting for a cue. Each was eight feet tall with tattooed arms, leather armor, and spiked clubs. Demigod archers appeared on the roof above Luke. Two hellhounds leaped down from the opposite balcony and snarled at me. Within seconds I was surrounded. A trap: there's no way they could've gotten into position so face unless they'd known I was coming. **

"There's a spy," muttered Annabeth. Piper looked down. Silena had died a hero.

** I looked up at Luke, and anger boiled inside me. I didn't know if Luke's consciousness was even still alive inside that body. Maybe, the way his voice had changed . . . Or maybe it was just Kronos adapting to his new form. I told myself it didn't matter. Luke had been twisted and evil long before Kronos possessed him. **

Annabeth frowned. _Luke, what have you done?_

** A voice in my head said: ****_I have to fight him eventually. Why not now? _****According to that big prophecy, I was supposed to make a choice that saved or destroyed the world when I was sixteen. That was only seven days away. Why not now? If I really had the power, what difference would a week make? **

Jason shook his head. A week could make all the difference in the world.

** I could end this threat right here by taking down Kronos. Hey, I'd fought monsters and gods before. **

"_Gods?_" "Yeah. On our first quest, when we were twelve, he fought Ares and won. With barely any training." Annabeth was taking a great amount of pleasure from watching Percy's face turn red yet again. ** As if reading my thoughts, Luke smiled. No, he was ****_Kronos. _****I had to remember that. "Come forward," he said. "If you dare." **

"Cliché."

** The crowd of monsters parted. I moved up the stairs, my heart pounding. I was sure somebody would stab me in the back, but they let me pass. I felt my pocket and found my pen waiting. I uncapped it, and Riptide grew into a sword. **

"Cool!"

** Kronos's weapon appeared in his hands- a six-foot-long scythe, half Celestial bronze, half mortal steel. Just looking at it made my knees turn to Jell-O. But before I could change my mind, I charged. Time slowed down. I mean ****_literally _****slowed down, because Kronos had that power. I felt like I was moving through syrup. My arms were so heavy, I could barely raise my sword. Kronos smiled, swirling his scythe at normal speed and waiting for me to creep toward my death. **

The class leaned forward with anticipation.

** I tried to fight his magic. I concentrated on the sea around me- the source of my power. I'd gotten better at channeling it over the year, but now nothing seemed to happen. I took another slow step forward. Giants jeered. ****_Dracaenae _****hissed with laughter. ****_Hey, ocean, _****I pleaded****_. Any day would be good. _****Suddenly there was a wrenching pain in my gut. The entire boat lurched sideways, throwing monsters off their feet. Four thousand gallons of salt water surged out of the swimming pool, dousing me and Kronos and everyone on the deck. The water revitalized me, breaking the time spell, and I lunged forward. **

Annabeth stared at Percy in wonder. "You shouldn't

**I struck at Kronos, but I was still too slow. I made the mistake of looking at his face- ****_Luke's face-_**** a guy who was once my friend. As much as I hated him, it was hard to kill him. **

"You're too loyal."

** Kronos had no such hesitation. He sliced downward with his scythe. I leaped back, and the evil blade missed by an inch, cutting a gash in the deck right between my feet. I kicked Kronos in the chest. He stumbled backward, but he was heavier than Luke should've been. It was like kicking a refrigerator. Kronos swung his scythe again. I intercepted with Riptide, but his strike was so powerful, my blade could only deflect it. The edge of the scythe shaved off my shirtsleeve and grazed my arm. It shouldn't have been a serious cut, but the entire side of my body exploded with pain. **

Annabeth groaned. "If you die on me, I'm going to kill you, Seaweed Brain."

** I remembered what a sea demon had once said about Kronos's scythe: ****_Careful, fool. One touch, and the blade will sever your soul from your body. _****Now I understood what he meant. I wasn't just losing blood. I could feel my strength, my will, my identity draining away. I stumbled backward, switched my sword to my left hand, and lunged desperately. My blade should've run him through, but it deflected off his stomach like I was hitting solid marble. There was no way he should've survived that. Kronos laughed. "A poor performance, Percy Jackson. Luke tells me you were never his match at swordplay." My vision started to blur. I knew I didn't have much time. "Luke had a big head," I said. "But at least it was his head." **

Despite the situation, some boys sniggered quietly.

** "A shame to kill you now, " Kronos mused, "before the final plan unfolds. I would love to see the terror in your eyes when you realize how I will destroy Olympus." "You'll never get this boat to Manhattan." My arm was throbbing. Black spots danced in my vision. "And why would that be?" Kronos's golden eyes glittered. His face- Luke's face- seemed like a mask, unnatural and lit from behind by some evil power. "Perhaps you are counting on your friend with the explosives?" **

"No."

** He looked down at the pool and called, "Nakamura!" A teenage guy in full Greek armor pushed through the crowd. His left eye was covered with a black patch. I knew him, of course: Ethan Nakamura, the son of Nemesis. I'd saved his life in the Labyrinth last summer, and in return, the little punk had helped Kronos come back to life. "Success, my lord," Ethan called. "We found him just as we were told." He clapped his hands, and two giants lumbered forward, dragging Charles Beckendorf between them. My heart almost stopped. Beckendorf had a swollen eye and cuts all over his face and arms. His armor was gone and his shirt was nearly torn off. **

"No, no, no, no, no, no."

** "No!" I yelled. Beckendorf met my eyes. He glanced at his hand like he was trying to tell me something. His watch. They hadn't taken it yet, and that was the detonator. Was it possible the explosives were armed? Surely the monsters would've dismantled them right away. "We found him amidships," one of the giants said, "trying to sneak to the engine room. Can we eat him now?" "Soon." Kronos scowled at Ethan. "Are you sure he didn't set the explosives?" "He was going ****_toward _****the engine room, my lord." "How do you know that?" "Er . . . " Ethan shifted uncomfortably. "He was heading in that direction. And he told us. His bag is still full of explosives." Slowly, I began to understand. Beckendorf had fooled them. When he'd realized he was going to be captured, he turned to make it look like he was going the other way. He'd convinced them he hadn't made it to the engine room yet. The Greek fire might still be primed! But that didn't do us any good unless we could get off the ship and detonate it. Kronos hesitated. ****_Buy the story,_**** I prayed. The pain in my arm was so bad now I could barely stand. "Open his bag," Kronos ordered. One of the giants ripped the explosives satchel from Beckendorf's shoulders. He peered inside, grunted, and turned it upside down. Panicked monsters surged backward. If the bag really had been full of Greek fire jars, we would've all blown up. But what fell out were a dozen cans of peaches. I could hear Kronos breathing, trying to control his anger. "Did you, perhaps," he said, "capture this demigod near the galley?" Ethan turned pale. "Um-" "And did you, perhaps, send someone to actually CHECK THE ENGINE ROOM?" **

"So that's where the Gods got their tempers from." said Percy thoughtfully. Thunder rumbled in the distance and he rolled his eyes.

** Ethan scrambled back in terror, then turned on his heels and ran. I cursed silently. Now we had only minutes before the bombs were disarmed. I caught Beckendorf's eyes again and asked a silent question, hoping he would understand: ****_How long? _****He cupped his fingers and thumb, making a circle. ****_Zero. _****There was no delay on the timer at all. If he managed to press the detonator button, the ship would blow at once. We'd never be able to get far enough away before using it. The monsters would kill us first, or disarm the explosives, or both. Kronos turned toward me with a crooked smile. "You'll have to excuse my incompetent help, Percy Jackson. But it doesn't matter. We have you now. We've known you were coming for weeks." He held out his hand and dangled a little silver bracelet with a scythe charm-the Titan lord's symbol. The wound in my arm was sapping my ability to think, but I muttered, "Communication device . . . Spy at camp." Kronos chuckled. "You can't count on friends. They will always let you down. Luke learned that lesson the hard way. Now drop your sword and surrender to me, or your friend dies." I swallowed. One of the giants had his hand around Beckendorf's neck. I was in no shape to rescue him, and even if I tried, he would die before I got there. We both would. Beckendorf mouthed one word: ****_Go. _**

Percy shook his head. He would find a way to save them both. He always did.

** I shook my head. I couldn't just leave him. The second giant was still rummaging through the peach cans, which meant Beckendorf's left arm was free. He raised it slowly- toward the watch on his right wrist. I wanted to scream, ****_NO! _****Then down by the swimming pool, one of the dracaenae hissed, "What isss he doing? What isss that on hisss wrissst?" Beckendorf closed eyes tight and brought his hand up to his watch. I had no choice. I threw my sword like a javelin at Kronos. It bounced harmlessly off his chest, but it did startle him. I pushed through a crowd of monsters and jumped off the side of the ship- toward the water a hundred feet below. I heard rumbling deep in the ship. Monsters yelled at me from above. A spear sailed past my ear. An arrow pierced my thigh, but I barely had time to register the pain. I plunged into the sea and willed the currents to take me far, far away-a hundred yards, two hundred yards. Even from that distance, the explosion shook the world. Heat seared the back of my head. The ****_Princess Andromeda_**** blew up from both sides, a massive fireball of green flame roiling into the dark sky, consuming everything. Beckendorf, I thought. Then I blacked out and sank like an anchor toward the bottom of the sea.** A tear ran down Annabeth's cheek. Percy stood up. "It's my fault." "What? Percy, no, no it wasn't-" "Yes, it was I could've- I could've-" All Percy wanted was to be alone. Away from the pitying stares, away from the comfort he didn't deserve. Couldn't they see that he could have _saved_ him? He didn't deserve their comfort. As if sensing his thoughts, the wall glowed. When the light diminished, there was a door there. Without stopping to think, Percy ran through it, ignoring the startled cries of the people in the room behind. The door swung shut, and too late, Annabeth, Piper, Jason, Frank, Hazel, and Leo jumped up, trying to stop the door from shutting. Everybody looked at Paul. "What do we do now?"


	4. Alert! Filler Chapter!

Behind the door, Percy was training. He'd opened the door to see a room full of life-size, fully functioning bronze monster automations. After activating some, he slashed, stabbed, and fought out his thoughts. Priming the Greek fire... _Stab, block, roll._ Kronos' scythe... _Duck, jab, jump._ The exploding ship... _Slash, whap, chop._ Beckendorf, sacrificing himself so that Percy could escape... _Whack, deflect, jump, slash. _The last automation fell to the ground. "This isn't working!" Percy growled to himself. Training always helped him clear his mind, but now it wasn't. "Gah!"

A fountain appeared in the corner, and Percy willed the water to flow out over the sides and flood the room. He made an air bubble in the corner of the room and sat there, trying to control his thoughts and feelings. A single tear fell down his cheek, and the door opened. _~In the other room~_ The door slammed shut, leaving everyone staring at it. Minutes later, there came the sound of clanking and slamming from the other side. Paul exchanged a concerned glance with Annabeth. What was he doing in there? There was a flash of light, and a screen appeared in the front of the classroom. As everyone focused on it, the static cleared, the picture sharpening into what they assumed was the room behind the door. The screen showed Percy and what looked like an army of automations. The older demigods smiled when they saw Percy whirling his way through said army no problem. The mortals were in shock. He was good. No, good was an understatement. He was _amazing_. Any smiles previously held disappeared when they saw him strike down the last bronze monster. A fountain appeared in one corner as Percy growled, "This isn't working!" He then shouted "Gah!" as the room flooded, a single tear falling from his eye as he sat in the corner of the room. Suddenly, the door slammed open, leaving a wall of water where the closed door had been. Jason walked up to the door frame and placed a hand on the wall of water, pushing hard. The water didn't move, in fact it hardened, growing colder as it turned to ice. Sighing, the Sky Prince turned back to the rest of the room. "No one's going to be able to get in that room unless he wants us to." "Well," began Paul. "We shouldn't put off reading the book, only because I doubt that he needs to hear anything more right now. We should keep reading, and when he's ready, Percy will come out." Giving one last glance at the room now filled with ice, Paul tossed the book to Piper, who caught it with a slightly surprised look on her face. She opened the book and read the title. "Ok, chapter two. **I Meet Some Fishy Relatives**."


	5. I Meet Some Fishy Relatives

** Demigod dreams suck. ** "You can say that again." said all of the demigods present. Little Annabeth sighed. "And Percy always has the worst dreams, too." ** The thing is, they're never just ****_dreams_****. They've got to be visions, omens, and all that other mystical stuff that makes my brain hurt. I dreamed I was in a dark palace at the top of a mountain. Unfortunately, I recognized it: the palace of the Titans on top of Mount Othrys, otherwise known as Mount Tamalpais, in California. The main pavilion was open to the night, ringed with black Greek columns and statues of the Titans. Torchlight glowed against the black marble floor. In the center of the room, an armored giant struggled under the weight of a swirling funnel cloud—Atlas, holding up the sky. **

"The sky can't be that heavy," said Leon stupidly. No one even dignified that with an answer.

** Two other giant men stood nearby over a bronze brazier, studying images in the flames. "Quite an explosion," one said. He wore black armor studded with silver dots like a starry night. His face was covered in a war helm with a ram's horn curling on either side. **

Jason's eye twitched. "Krios," he growled.

** "It doesn't matter," the other said. This Titan was dressed in gold robes, with golden eyes like Kronos. His entire body glowed. He reminded me of Apollo, God of the Sun, except the Titan's light was harsher, and his expression crueler. **

"I don't think Apollo'd appreciate being compared to an evil Titan." said Natalie.

** "The gods have answered the challenge. Soon they will be destroyed." The images in the fire were hard to make out: storms, buildings crumbling, mortals screaming in terror. "I will go east to Marshall our forces," the golden Titan said. "Krios, you shall remain and guard Mount Othrys." The ram horn dude grunted. "I always get the stupid jobs. Lord of the South. Lord of Constellations. Now I get to babysit Atlas while **_**you **_**have all the fun." **

A couple of people laughed.

** Under the whirlwind of clouds, Atlas bellowed in agony, "Let me out, curse you! I am your greatest warrior. Take my burden so I may fight!" "Quiet!" the golden Titan roared. "You had your chance, Atlas. You failed. Kronos likes you just where you are. As for you, Krios, do your duty." "And if you need more warriors?" Krios asked. "Our treacherous nephew in the tuxedo will not do you much good in a fight." ** Paul shivered. "From what I've heard, he was a creep."

** The golden Titan laughed. "Don't worry about him. Besides, the gods can barely handle our first little challenge. They have no idea how many others we have in store. Mark my words, in a few days' time, Olympus will be in ruins, and we will meet here again to celebrate the dawn of the Sixth Age!" The golden Titan erupted into flames and disappeared. "Oh, sure," Krios grumbled. "He gets to erupt into flames. I get to wear these stupid ram's horns." **

The people who laughed before and a few others chuckled.

** The scene shifted. Now I was outside the pavilion, hiding in the shadows of a Greek column. A boy stood next to me, eavesdropping on the Titans. He had dark silky hair, pale skin, and dark clothes—my friend Nico di Angelo, the son of Hades. He looked straight at me, his expression grim. "You see, Percy?" he whispered. "You're running out of time. Do you really think you can beat them without my plan?" **

"What plan?" asked Marissa obnoxiously.

** His words washed over me as cold as the ocean floor, and my dreams went black. "Percy?" a deep voice said. My head felt like it had been microwaved in aluminum foil.**

Little Annabeth rolled her eyes. Seaweed Brain.

** I opened my eyes and saw a large shadowy figure looming over me. "Beckendorf?" I asked hopefully. "No, brother." My eyes refocused. I was looking at a Cyclops—a misshapen face, ratty brown hair, one big brown eye full of concern. "Tyson?" My brother broke into a toothy grin. "Yay! Your brain works!" **

_Don't be too sure,_ Annabeth thought fondly.

** I wasn't so sure. ** Her eyes widened in confusion. ** My body felt weightless and cold. My voice sounded wrong. I could hear Tyson, but it was more like I was hearing vibrations inside my skull, not the regular sounds. I sat up, and a gossamer sheet floated away. I was on a bed made of silky woven kelp, in a room paneled with abalone shell. Glowing pearls the size of basketballs floated around the ceiling, providing light. I was under water. Now, being the son of Poseidon and all, I was okay with this. I can breathe underwater just fine, and my clothes don't even get wet unless I want them to. But it was still a bit of a shock when a hammerhead shark drifted through the bedroom window, regarded me, and then swam calmly out the opposite side of the room. "Where—" "Daddy's palace," Tyson said. Under different circumstances, I would've been excited. I'd never visited Poseidon's realm, and I'd been dreaming about it for years. But my head hurt. My shirt was still speckled with burn marks from the explosion. My arm and leg wounds had healed—just being in the ocean can do that for me, given enough time—but I still felt like I'd been trampled by a Laistrygonian soccer team in cleats. **

"How does he know what that feels like?" said Hazel. No one had an answer for her.

** "How long—" "We found you last night," Tyson said, "sinking through the water." "The **_**Princess Andromeda**_**?" "Went ka-boom," Tyson confirmed. "Beckendorf was on board. Did you find . . ." Tyson's face darkened. "No sign of him. I am sorry, brother." I stared out the window into deep blue water. Beckendorf was supposed to go to college in the fall. He had a girlfriend, lots of friends, his whole life ahead of him. He couldn't be **_**gone. **_**Maybe he'd made it off the ship like I had. Maybe he'd jumped over the side . . . and what? He couldn't have survived a hundred-foot fall into the water like I could. He couldn't have put enough distance between himself and the explosion. I knew in my gut he was dead. He'd sacrificed himself to take out the **_**Princess Andromeda, **_**and I had abandoned him. **

The demigods and Paul sighed. Percy's fatal flaw made it so he got guilty way too easily.

** I thought about my dream: the Titans discussing the explosion as if it didn't matter, Nico di Angelo warning me that I would never beat Kronos without following his plan—a dangerous idea I'd been avoiding for more than a year. **

Many of the mortals looked at the door, a new interest sparked in their eyes.

** A distant blast shook the room. Green light blazed outside, turning the whole sea as bright as noon. "What was that?" I asked. Tyson looked worried. "Daddy will explain. Come, he is blowing up monsters." **

"Awesome." muttered Matt quietly.

** The palace might have been the most amazing place I'd ever seen if it hadn't been in the process of getting destroyed. We swam to the end of a long hallway and shot upward on a geyser. As we rose over the rooftops I caught my breath—well, if you can catch your breath underwater. The palace was as big as the city on Mount Olympus, with wide courtyards, gardens, and columned pavilions. The gardens were sculpted with coral colonies and glowing sea plants. Twenty or thirty buildings were made of abalone, white but gleaming with rainbow colors. Fish and octopi darted in and out of the windows. The paths were lined with glowing pearls like Christmas lights. **

"It's beautiful," whispered Piper, interrupting herself.

** The main courtyard was filled with warriors—mermen with fish tails from the waist down and human bodies from the waist up, except their skin was blue, which I'd never known before. Some were tending the wounded. Some were sharpening spears and swords. One passed us, swimming in a hurry. His eyes were bright green, like that stuff they put in glow-sticks, and his teeth were shark teeth. They don't show you stuff like that in **_**The Little Mermaid. **_

"Of course not," said Leon, speaking up for the first time in a while, startling some people. "What is he, stupid?" The demigods glared at him but otherwise ignored him.

** Outside the main courtyard stood large fortifications—towers, walls, and anti-siege weapons—but most of these had been smashed to ruins. Others were blazing with a strange green light that I knew well—Greek fire, which can burn even underwater. **

"Then why are kids handling it?" Jessica nearly screeched. Annabeth narrowed her eyes and the brunette. "Better us than you mortals." Jessica shifted under Annabeth's glare and said nothing. ** Beyond this, the sea floor stretched into gloom. I could see battles raging—flashes of energy, explosions, the glint of armies clashing. A regular human would've found it too dark to see. Heck, a regular human would've been crushed by the pressure and frozen by the cold. Even my heat-sensitive eyes couldn't make out exactly what was going on. At the edge of the palace complex, a temple with a red coral roof exploded, sending fire and debris streaming in slow motion across the farthest gardens. Out of the darkness above, an enormous form appeared—a squid larger than any skyscraper. It was surrounded by a glittering cloud of dust—at least I thought it was dust, until I realized it was a swarm of mermen trying to attack the monster. The squid descended on the palace and swatted its tentacles, smashing a whole column of warriors. Then a brilliant arc of blue light shot from the rooftop of one of the tallest buildings. The light hit the giant squid, and the monster dissolved like food coloring in water. **

"Wow." gasped Mary. She made a mental note, don't piss off the Gods. ** "Daddy," Tyson said, pointing to where the light had come from. ****_"He _****did that?" I suddenly felt more hopeful. My dad had unbelievable powers. He was the god of the sea. He could deal with this attack, right? Maybe he'd let me help. "Have you been in the fight?" I asked Tyson in awe. "Like bashing heads with your awesome Cyclops strength and stuff?" Tyson pouted, and immediately I knew I'd asked a bad question, "I have been . . . fixing weapons," he mumbled. "Come. Let's go find Daddy." I know this might sound weird to people with, like, regular parents, but I'd only seen my dad four or five times in my life, and never for more than a few minutes. The Greek gods don't exactly show up for their kids' basketball games. ** "That's sad," whispered Lucy. She couldn't imagine only seeing her mom or dad a few times in her lifetime. ** Still, I thought I would recognize Poseidon on sight. I was wrong. The roof of the temple was a big open deck that had been set up as a command center. A mosaic on the floor showed an exact map of the palace grounds and the surrounding ocean, but the mosaic moved. Colored stone tiles representing different armies and sea monsters shifted around as the forces changed position. Buildings that collapsed in real life also collapsed in the picture. **

"Cool!" said Leo, trying to figure out what he'd need to build something like that. ** Standing around the mosaic, grimly studying the battle, was a strange assortment of warriors, but none of them looked like my dad. I was searching for a big guy with a good tan and a black beard, wearing Bermuda shorts and a Hawaiian shirt. **

"That's what Poseidon looks like?" scoffed Leon. Piper glared at him. "What, did you expect the Gods to wear chitons? They move with the West, you dolt."

** There was nobody like that. One guy was a merman with two fish tails instead of one. His skin was green, his armor studded with pearls. His black hair was tied in a ponytail, and he looked young—though it's hard to tell with non-humans. They could be a thousand years old or three. Standing next to him was an old man with a bushy white beard and gray hair. His battle armor seemed to weigh him down. He had green eyes and smile wrinkles around his eyes, but he wasn't smiling now. He was studying the map and leaning on a large metal staff. To his right stood a beautiful woman in green armor with flowing black hair and strange little horns like crab claws. And there was a dolphin—just a regular dolphin, but it was staring at the map intently. **

"Delphin." Annabeth smiled, happy she figured it out.

** "Delphin," the old man said. "Send Palaemon and his legion of sharks to the western front. We have to neutralize those leviathans." The dolphin spoke in a chattering voice, but I could understand it in my mind: ****_Yes, lord! _****It sped away. I looked in dismay at Tyson, then back at the old man. It didn't seem possible, but . . . "Dad?" I asked. The old man looked up. I recognized the twinkle in his eyes, but his face . . . he looked like he'd aged forty years. "Hello, Percy." "What—what happened to you?" ** Annabeth face-palmed. "Seaweed Brain, what am I going to do with you?" she muttered. Hazel heard her and smiled. _Oh I don't know,_ she thought. _Maybe snog the hell out of him?_

** Tyson nudged me. He was shaking his head so hard I was afraid it would fall off, but Poseidon didn't look offended. "It's all right, Tyson," he said. "Percy, excuse my appearance. The war has been hard on me." "But you're immortal," I said quietly. "You can look . . . any way you want." "I reflect the state of my realm," he said. "And right now that state is quite grim. Percy, I should introduce you—I'm afraid you just missed my lieutenant Delphin, God of the Dolphins. This is my, er, wife, Amphitrite. My dear— "**

"Awkward." Jason muttered. At least when he'd met his step-mother, she hadn't hated him.

** The lady in green armor stared at me coldly, then crossed her arms and said, "Excuse me, my lord. I am needed in the battle." She swam away. I felt pretty awkward, but I guess I couldn't blame her. I'd never thought about it much, but my dad had an immortal wife. All his romances with mortals, including with my mom . . . well, Amphitrite probably didn't like that much. **

"No duh," said Helen.

** Poseidon cleared his throat. "Yes, well. . . and this is my son Triton. Er, my ****_other _****son." **

"Even more awkward." said Leo. Piper hit him over the head with the book, ignoring his "Ow!" of protest.

** "Your son and heir," the green dude corrected. His double fish tails swished back and forth. He smiled at me, but there was no friendliness in his eyes. "Hello, Perseus Jackson. Come to help at last?" He acted like I was late or lazy. If you can blush underwater, I probably did. **

"Can you?" asked Michael. "I don't know."

** "Tell me what to do," I said. Triton smiled like that was a cute suggestion—like I was a slightly amusing dog that had barked for him or something. He turned to Poseidon. "I will see to the front line, Father. Don't worry. ****_I_**** will not fail." **

Annabeth and the others who knew Percy as a demigod glared at the book. When had Percy ever failed? ** He nodded politely to Tyson. How come I didn't get that much respect? Then he shot off into the water. Poseidon sighed. He raised his staff, and it changed into his regular weapon—a huge three-pointed trident. The tip glowed with blue light, and the water around it boiled with energy. "I'm sorry about that," he told me. A huge sea serpent appeared from above us and spiraled down toward the roof. It was bright orange with a fanged mouth big enough to swallow a gymnasium. Hardly looking up, Poseidon pointed his trident at the beast and zapped it with blue energy. ****_Ka-boom! _****The monster burst into a million goldfish, which all swam off in terror. ** "Amazing." said Matt, again mesmerized by Poseidon's powers.

** "My family is anxious," Poseidon continued as if nothing had happened. "The battle against Oceanus is going poorly." He pointed to the edge of the mosaic. With the butt of his trident he tapped the image of a merman larger than the rest, with the horns of a bull. He appeared to be riding a chariot pulled by crawfish, and instead of a sword he wielded a live serpent. "Oceanus," I said, trying to remember. "The Titan of the sea?" **

Annabeth looked surprised that he'd gotten it right.

** Poseidon nodded. "He was neutral in the first war of gods and Titans. But Kronos has convinced him to fight. This is . . . well, it's not a good sign. Oceanus would not commit unless he was sure he could pick the winning side." "He looks stupid," I said, trying to sound upbeat. "I mean, who fights with a snake?" "Daddy will tie it in knots," Tyson said firmly. Poseidon smiled, but he looked weary. "I appreciate your faith. We have been at war almost a year now. My powers are taxed. And still he finds new forces to throw at me—sea monsters so ancient I had forgotten about them." **

"That's not good..." Lexi trailed off nervously, chewing her lip.

** I heard an explosion in the distance. About half a mile away, a mountain of coral disintegrated under the weight of two giant creatures. I could dimly make out their shapes. One was a lobster. The other was a giant humanoid like a Cyclops, but he was surrounded by a flurry of limbs. At first I thought he wearing a bunch of giant octopi. Then I realized they were his own arms—a hundred flailing, fighting arms. "Briares!" I said. **

Again, Annabeth was surprised. Hadn't all of the Hundred-Handed Ones faded? Apparently not.

** I was happy to see him, but he looked like he was fighting for his life. He was the last of his kind—a Hundred-Handed One, cousin of the Cyclopes. We'd saved him from Kronos's prison last summer, and I knew he'd come to help Poseidon, but I hadn't heard of him since. "He fights well," Poseidon said. "I wish we had a whole army like him, but he is the only one." I watched as Briares bellowed in rage and picked up the lobster, which thrashed and snapped its pincers. He threw it off the coral mountain, and the lobster disappeared into the darkness. Briares swam after it, his hundred arms spinning like the blades of a motorboat. "Percy, we may not have much time," my dad said. "Tell me of your mission. Did you see Kronos?" **

"No," drawled Leo. "He didn't see him, he didn't fight him or anything."

** I told him everything, though my voice choked up when I explained about Beckendorf. I looked down at the courtyards below and saw hundreds of wounded mermen lying on makeshift cots. I saw rows of coral mounds that must've been hastily made graves. I realized Beckendorf wasn't the first death. He was only one of hundreds, maybe thousands. I'd never felt so angry and helpless. Poseidon stroked his beard. "Percy, Beckendorf chose a heroic death. You bear no blame for that. Kronos's army will be in disarray. Many were destroyed." **

"That won't make him feel better," sighed Hazel. ** "But we didn't kill him, did we?" **

You can't kill a Titan, Seaweed Brain. Annabeth mentally corrected Percy.

** As I said it, I knew it was a naïve hope. We might blow up his ship and disintegrate his monsters, but a Titan lord wouldn't be so easy to kill. "No," Poseidon admitted. "But you've bought our side some time." "There were demigods on that ship," I said, thinking of the kid I'd seen in the stairwell. Somehow I'd allowed myself to concentrate on the monsters and Kronos. I'd convinced myself that destroying their ship was all right because they were evil, they were sailing to attack my city, and besides, they couldn't really be permanently killed. Monsters just vaporized and re-formed eventually. But demigods . . . Poseidon put his hand on my shoulder. "Percy, there were only a few demigod warriors aboard that ship, and they all chose to battle for Kronos. Perhaps some heeded your warning and escaped. If they did not . . . they chose their path." "They were brainwashed!" I said. "Now they're dead and Kronos is still alive. That's supposed to make me feel better?" I glared at the mosaic—little tile explosions destroying tile monsters. It seemed so easy when it was just a picture. Tyson put his arm around me. If anybody else had tried that, I would've pushed him away, but Tyson was too big and stubborn. He hugged me whether I wanted it or not. **

"That's so cute!" squealed Helen, making everyone wince at her high voice.

** "Not your fault, brother. Kronos does not explode good. Next time we will use a big stick." **

Noah laughed. "A big stick."

** "Percy," my father said. "Beckendorf's sacrifice wasn't in vain. You have scattered the invasion force. New York will be safe for a time, which frees the other Olympians to deal with the bigger threat." **

"Bigger threat?" asked Annabeth. She began going through a mental list of everything else that could go wrong, be she came up empty. ** "The bigger threat?" I thought about what the golden Titan had said in my dream: ****_The gods have answered the challenge. Soon they will be destroyed. _****A shadow passed over my father's face. "You've had enough sorrow for one day. Ask Chiron when you return to camp." "Return to camp? But you're in trouble here. I want to help!" "You can't, Percy. Your job is elsewhere." I couldn't believe I was hearing this. I looked at Tyson for backup. My brother chewed his lip. "Daddy . . . Percy can fight with a sword. He is good." **

"Understatement," sang Carlos quietly. ** "I know that," Poseidon said gently. "Dad, I can help," I said. "I know I can. You're not going to hold out here much longer." A fireball launched into the sky from behind the enemy lines. I thought Poseidon would deflect it or something, but it landed on the outer corner of the yard and exploded, sending mermen tumbling through the water. Poseidon winced as if he'd just been stabbed. "Return to camp," he insisted. "And tell Chiron it is time." "For what?" "You must hear the prophecy. The **_**entire **_**prophecy." **

Annabeth shuddered, remembering said prophecy.

** I didn't need to ask him which prophecy. I'd been hearing about the "Great Prophecy" for years, but nobody would ever tell me the whole thing. All I knew was that I was supposed to make a decision that would decide the fate of the world—but no pressure. "What if **_**this **_**is the decision?" I said. "Staying here to light, or leaving? What if I leave and you . . ." I couldn't say **_**die. **_**Gods weren't supposed to die, but I'd seen it happen. ** Annabeth wanted to ask, but knew she wouldn't get an answer. ** Even if they didn't die, they could be reduced to nearly nothing, exiled, imprisoned in the depths of Tartarus like Kronos had been. "Percy, you must go," Poseidon insisted. "I don't know what your final decision will be, but your fight lies in the world above. If nothing else, you must warn your friends at camp. Kronos knew your plans. You have a spy. We will hold here. We have no choice." Tyson gripped my hand desperately. "I will miss you, brother!" Watching us, our father seemed to age another ten years. "Tyson, you have work to do as well, my son. They need you in the armory." Tyson pouted some more. "I will go," he sniffled. He hugged me so hard he almost cracked my ribs. "Percy, be careful! Do not let monsters kill you dead!" I tried to nod confidently, but it was too much for the big guy. He sobbed and swam away toward the armory, where his cousins were fixing spears and swords. "You should let him fight," I told my father. "He hates being stuck in the armory. Can't you tell?" Poseidon shook his head. "It is bad enough I must send you into danger. Tyson is too young. I must protect him." "You should trust him," I said. "Not try to protect him." **

"That's not how you talk to a God!" moaned Lucy. "You'll get vaporized!" "Since when do you care?" Hazel growled, her eyes cold. Lucy looked at her lap in guilt.

** Poseidon's eyes flared. I thought I'd gone too far, but then he looked down at the mosaic and his shoulders sagged. On the tiles, the mermaid guy in the crawfish chariot was coming closer to the palace. "Oceanus approaches," my father said. "I must meet him in battle." I'd never been scared for a god before, but I didn't see how my dad could face this Titan and win. "I will hold," Poseidon promised. "I will not give up my domain. Just tell me, Percy, do you still have the birthday gift I gave you last summer?" I nodded and pulled out my camp necklace. It had a bead for every summer I'd been at Camp Half-Blood, but since last year I'd also kept a sand dollar on the cord. My father had given it to me for my fifteenth birthday. **

"Why would he give him a sand dollar? He could have given him like, a car!" Leon was again ignored.

** He'd told me I would know when to "spend it," but so far I hadn't figured out what he meant. All I knew was that it didn't fit the vending machines in the school cafeteria. **

"Only Percy," said Frank, laughing.

** "The time is coming," he promised. "With luck, I will see you for your birthday next week, and we will have a proper celebration." He smiled, and for a moment I saw the old light in his eyes. Then the entire sea grew dark in front of us, like an inky storm was rolling in. Thunder crackled, which should've been impossible underwater. A huge icy presence was approaching. I sensed a wave of fear roll through the armies below us. "I must assume my true godly form," Poseidon said. "Go—and good luck, my son." I wanted to encourage him, to hug him or something, but knew better than to stick around. When a god assumes his true form, the power is so great that any mortal looking on him will disintegrate. ** Jason winced, remembering when he'd seen Hera's true form.

** "Good-bye, Father," I managed. Then I turned away. I willed the ocean currents to aid me. Water swirled around me, and I shot toward the surface at speeds that would've caused any normal human to pop like a balloon. When I looked back, all I could see were flashes of green and blue as my father fought the Titan, and the sea itself was torn apart by the two armies. ** Silence rang around the classroom, waiting to be broken. It finally was when Jason leaned over and took the book. "Chapter Three. **I Get a Sneak Peak of my Death.**"


	6. I Get A Sneak Peek of my Death

Pre story note: I'm sorry that this took so long to get up!

** If you want to be popular at Camp Half-Blood, don't come back from a mission with bad news. Word of my arrival spread as soon as I walked out of the ocean. Our beach is on the North Shore of Long Island, and it's enchanted so most people can't even see it.**

"That's not fair," muttered Helen.

Annabeth glared at her. She could already tell that Helen was shallow, and she already got on Annabeth's nerves. "Being able to see camp isn't worth fighting the monsters." She snapped.

** People don't just ****_appear_**** on the beach unless they're demigods or gods or really, really lost pizza delivery guys. (It's happened – but that's another story.)**

The five older demigods looked at Annabeth. "Why weren't we told this story?" They asked.

She shrugged. "I don't know, it hasn't happened yet."

** Anyway, that afternoon the lookout on duty was Connor Stoll from the Hermes cabin. When he spotted me, he got so excited he fell out of his tree.**

Many kids in the classroom laughed. Annabeth grinned. "I can picture him doing that."

The laughter increased dramatically.

** Then he blew the conch horn to signal the camp and ran to greet me. Connor had a crooked smile that matched his crooked sense of humor. He's a pretty nice guy, but you should always keep one hand on your wallet when he's around, and do not, under any circumstances, give him access to shaving cream unless you want to find your sleeping bag full of it.**

Leo grinned. It really was too bad that he'd had to work so hard on the _Argo II_, otherwise he would've had a fine time with the Stolls.

** He's got curly brown hair and is a little shorter than his brother, Travis, which is the only way I can tell them apart. They are both so unlike my old enemy Luke it's hard to believe they're all sons of Hermes.**

The atmosphere darkened slightly.

** "Percy!" he yelled. "What happened? Where's Beckendorf?" Then he saw my expression, and his smile melted. "Oh, no. Poor Silena. Holy Zeus, when she finds out…"**

Annabeth winced at the poor word choice. That'd just make Percy feel worse.

** Together we climbed the sand dunes. A few hundred yards away, people were already streaming toward us, smiling and excited. ****_Percy's back,_**** they were probably thinking. ****_He's saved the day! Maybe he brought souvenirs!_**

Jason stopped reading. "Why would he bring back souvenirs?"

All he got was a shrug in response.

** I stopped at the dining pavilion and waited for them. No sense rushing down there to tell them what a loser I was.**

Piper winced. She'd had that thought one to many times. She was just glad that she had Jason now.

** I gazed across the valley and tried to remember how Camp Half-Blood looked the first time I ever saw it. That seemed like a bajillion years ago.**

"Not a word," muttered Annabeth.

** From the dining pavilion, you could see pretty much everything. Hills ringed the valley. On the tallest, Half-Blood Hill, Thalia's pine tree stood with the Golden Fleece hanging from its branches, magically protecting the camp from its enemies.**

Sam gasped. "You guys have the _real_ Golden Fleece?"

"Yes," said Annabeth, somewhat stiffly. "Percy, Clarisse, Grover and I recovered it a couple weeks ago."

** The guard dragon Peleus was so big now I could see him from here – curled around the tree trunk, lending up smoke signals as he snored. To my right spread the woods. To my left, the canoe lake glittered and the climbing wall glowed from the lava pouring down its side.**

"Lava? What if one of you got burned?" exclaimed Sara.

Annabeth looked at her in amusement and muttered something about mortals being silly.

** Twelve cabins – one for each Olympian god – made a horseshoe pattern around the commons area. **

Leo raised his eyebrows. Last time he checked, there'd definitely been more than 12 cabins.

** Farther south were the strawberry fields, the armory, and the four-story Big House with its sky blue paint job and its bronze eagle weathervane. In some ways, the camp hadn't changed. But you couldn't see the war by looking at the buildings or the fields. You could see it in the faces of the demigods and satyrs and naiads coming up the hill. There weren't as many at camp as four summers ago. Some had left and never come back. Some had died fighting. Others – we tried not to talk about them – had gone over to the enemy. The ones who were still here were battle-hardened and weary. There was little laughter at camp these days. Even the Hermes cabin didn't play so many pranks. It's hard to enjoy practical jokes when your whole life feels like one. Chiron galloped into the pavilion first, which was easy for him since he's a white stallion from the waist down.**

"Ok, I feel stupid for asking, but this is Chriron from the myths right?" Kyla asked.

Annabeth nodded absently; she wondered if Chiron even noticed that she and Percy were missing. Probably not, she mused. It had been around 2 in the morning before they'd been put in the classroom. Speaking of which, she could feel the fatigue creeping up on her.

** His beard had grown wilder over the summer. He wore a green T-shirt that said MY OTHER CAR IS A CENTAUR and a bow slung over his back. "Percy!" he said. "Thank the gods. But where…" Annabeth ran in right behind him, and I'll admit my heart did a little relay race in my chest when I saw her.**

Annabeth's face resembled a cherry tonmatoe as she looked at the classroom floor. Could it be...?

** It's not that she tried to look good. We'd been doing so many combat missions lately, she hardly brushed her curly blond hair anymore, and she didn't care what clothes she was wearing – usually the same old orange camp T-shirt and jeans, and once in a while her bronze armor.**

Helen wrinkled her nose. Ugh_, this girl needs to go shopping,_ she thought as she filed her nails.

** Her eyes were stormy gray. Most of the time we couldn't get through a conversation without trying to strangle each other.**

Piper nudged Hazel. "If only it lasted," she said jokingly.

Hazel smiled.

** Still, just seeing her made me feel fuzzy in the head. Last summer, before Luke had turned into Kronos and everything went sour, there had been a few times when I thought maybe… well, that we might get past the strangle-each-other phase.**

Annabeth still seemed to find the floor intruigingp(sp?).

** "What happened?" She grabbed my arm. "Is Luke–"**

Piper winced. Being a child of the love goddess and all, she knew that had been a bad thing to say. ** "The ship blew up," I said. "He wasn't destroyed. I don't know where–" Silena Beauregard pushed through the crowd. Her hair wasn't combed and she wasn't even wearing makeup, which wasn't like her. "Where's Charlie?" she demanded, looking around like he might be hiding.**

"Poor Silena."

** I glanced at Chiron helplessly. The old centaur cleared his throat. "Silena, my dear, let's talk about this at the Big House–" "No," she muttered. "No. ****_No._****" She started to cry, and the rest of us stood around, too stunned to speak. We'd already lost so many people over the summer, but this was the worst. With Beckendorf gone, it felt like someone had stolen the anchor for the entire camp.** **Finally Clarisse from the Ares cabin came forward. She put her arm around Silena. They had one of the strangest friendships ever – a daughter of the war god and a daughter of the love goddess – but ever since Silena had given Clarisse advice last summer about her first boyfriend, Clarisse had decided she was Silena's personal bodyguard. Clarisse was dressed in her bloodred combat armor, her brown hair tucked into a bandana. She was as big and beefy as a rugby player, with a permanent scowl on her face, but she spoke gently to Silena.**

_Huh,_ thought Annabeth. _I never would've thought she had it in her._

** "Come on, girl," she said. "Let's get to the Big House. I'll make you some hot chocolate." Everyone turned and wandered off in twos and threes, heading back to the cabins. Nobody was excited to see me now. Nobody wanted to hear about the blown-up ship. Only Annabeth and Chiron stayed behind. Annabeth wiped a tear from her cheek. "I'm glad you're not dead, Seaweed Brain." "Thanks," I said. "Me too." Chiron put a hand on my shoulder. "I'm sure you did everything you could, Percy. Will you tell us what happened?" I didn't want to go through it again, but I told them the story, including my dream about the Titans. I left out the detail about Nico. Nico had made me promise not to tell anybody about his plan until I made up my mind, and the plan was so scary I didn't mind keeping it a secret.**

"What plan? It can't be that scary if Prissy is afraid." Snarled Leon.

"Oh, Gods. We have another Clarisse." muttered Annabeth, glaring at the boy.

** Chiron gazed down at the valley. "We must call a war council immediately, to discuss this spy, and other matters." "Poseidon mentioned another threat," I said. "Something even bigger than the ****_Princess Andromeda_****. I thought it might be that challenge the Titan had mentioned in my dream." Chiron and Annabeth exchanged looks, like they knew something I didn't. I hated when they did that. "We will discuss that also," Chiron promised. "One more thing." I took a deep breath. "When I talked to my father, he said to tell you it's time. I need to know the full prophecy." Chiron's shoulders sagged, but he didn't look surprised. "I've dreaded this day. Very well. Annabeth, we will show Percy the truth – all of it. Let's go to the attic."**

"The attic?" asked Frank(I cann't believe I forgot him!). "Why the attic?"

"That's where the Oracle lives," said Annabeth.

"But-" Piper sighed. "Never mind."

** I'd been to the Big House attic three times before, which was three times more than I wanted to.**

Leon smirked. "The so called 'Hero' is afraid of the attic? What a wimp."

Annabeth gave him a withering glare. "You'd probably loose your mind if you went up there, so shut up."

Leon rolled his eyes but wisely shut up.

** A ladder led up from the top of the staircase. I wondered how Chiron was going to get up there, being half horse and all, but he didn't try.**

*Insert face-palm here.*

** "You know where it is," he told Annabeth. "Bring it down, please." Annabeth nodded. "Come on, Percy." The sun was setting outside, so the attic was even darker and creepier than usual. Old hero trophies were slacked everywhere – dented shields, pickled heads in jars from various monsters, a pair of fuzzy dice on a bronze plaque that read: STOLEN FROM CHRYSAOR'S HONDA CIVIC, BY GUS, SON OF HERMES, 1988. I picked up a curved bronze sword so badly bent it looked like the letter ****_M_****. I could still see green stains on the metal from the magical poison that used to cover it. The tag was dated last summer. It read: ****_Scimitar of Kampê, destroyed in the Battle of the Labyrinth._**

Annabeth raised her eyebrows. The Labyrinth?

** "You remember Briares throwing those boulders?" I asked. Annabeth gave me a grudging smile. "And Grover causing a Panic?" We locked eyes. I thought of a different time last summer, under Mount St. Helens, when Annabeth thought I was going to die and she kissed me.**

"I did _what?_" squeaked Annabeth.

Paul almost laughed. Almost. But he couldn't help but glance at the ice-filled doorway with worry.

** She cleared her throat and looked away. "Prophecy." "Right." I put down the scimitar. "Prophecy." We walked over to the window. On a three-legged stool sat the Oracle – a shriveled female mummy in a tie-dyed dress. Tufts of black hair clung to her skull. Glassy eyes stared out of her leathery face. Just looking at her made my skin crawl.**

Hazel wrinckled her nose. Gross.

** If you wanted to leave camp during the summer, it used to be you had to come up here to get a quest. This summer, that rule had been tossed. Campers left all the time on combat missions. We had no choice if we wanted to stop Kronos. Still, I remembered too well the strange green mist – the spirit of the Oracle – that lived inside the mummy. She looked lifeless now, but whenever she spoke a prophecy, she moved. Sometimes fog gushed out of her mouth and created strange shapes. Once, she'd even left the attic and taken a little zombie stroll into the woods to deliver a message.**

When did _that_ happen? Annabeth wondered.

** I wasn't sure what she'd do for the "Great Prophecy." I half expected her to start tap dancing or something.**

"Oh, Seaweed Brain."

** But she just sat there like she was dead – which she was. "I never understood this," I whispered. "What?" Annabeth asked. "Why it's a mummy." "Percy, she didn't used to be a mummy. For thousands of years the spirit of the Oracle lived inside a beautiful maiden. The spirit would be passed on from generation to generation. Chiron told me ****_she_**** was like that fifty years ago." Annabeth pointed at the mummy. "But she was the last." "What happened?"**

Annabeth shrugged. "No one knows."

** Annabeth started to say something, then apparently changed her mind. "Let's just do our job and get out of here." I looked nervously at the Oracle's withered face. "So what now?" Annabeth approached the mummy and held out her palms. "O Oracle, the time is at hand. I ask for the Great Prophecy." I braced myself, but the mummy didn't move. Instead, Annabeth approached and unclasped one of its necklaces. I'd never paid too much attention to its jewelry before. I figured it was just hippie love beads and stuff. But when Annabeth turned toward me, she was holding a leather pouch – like a Native American medicine pouch on a cord braided with feathers. She opened the bag and took out a roll of parchment no bigger than her pinky. "No way," I said. "You mean all these years, I've been asking about this stupid prophecy, and it's been right there around her neck?"**

Franks winced. "That _has_ to suck."

** "The time wasn't right," Annabeth said. "Believe me, Percy, I read this when I was ten years old, and I still have nightmares about it." "Great," I said. "Can I read it now?" "Downstairs at the war council," Annabeth said. "Not in front of… you know." I looked at the glassy eyes of the Oracle, and I decided not to argue. We headed downstairs to join the others. I didn't know it then, but it would be the last time I ever visited the attic. The senior counselors had gathered around the Ping-Pong table.**

Paul was surprised. "The ping-pong table? I'd have thought with your parents being all powerful and such that they'd have given you an actual place to strategize (SP?)."

"Yeah. You'd think that. But the Gods don't always care."

** Don't ask me why, but the rec room had become the camp's informal headquarters for war councils. When Annabeth, Chiron, and I came in, though, it looked more like a shouting was still in full battle gear. Her electric spear was strapped to her back. (Actually, her second electric spear, since I'd broken the first one. She called the spear "Maimer." Behind her back, everybody else called it "Lamer.") She had her boar-shaped helmet under one arm and a knife at her belt. She was in the midst of yelling at Michael Yew, the new head counselor for Apollo, which looked kind of funny since Clarisse was a foot taller. Michael had taken over the Apollo cabin after Lee Fletcher died in battle last summer. **

Annabeth sighed. Three chapters into this book and three deaths already. (A/N in case you forgot: Beckendorf, Castor and Lee Fletcher.)

** Michael stood four feet six, with another two feet of attitude. He reminded me of a ferret, with a pointy nose and scrunched-up features – either because he scowled so much or because he spent too much time looking down the shaft of an arrow.**

Kyla laughed. Mental images rock.

** "It's ****_our_**** loot!" he yelled, standing on his tiptoes so he could get in Clarisse's face. "If you don't like it, you can kiss my quiver!"**

"Who says that?"

** Around the table, people were trying not to laugh – the Stoll brothers, Pollux from the Dionysus cabin, Katie Gardner from Demeter. Even Jake Mason, the hastily appointed new counselor from Hephaestus, managed a faint smile. Only Silena Beauregard didn't pay any attention. She sat beside Clarisse and stared vacantly at the Ping-Pong net. Her eyes were red and puffy. A cup of hot chocolate sat untouched in front of her. It seemed unfair that she had to be here. I couldn't believe Clarisse and Michael standing over her, arguing about something as stupid as loot, when she'd just lost Beckendorf.**

"Exactly." Piper muttered.

** "STOP IT!" I yelled. "What are you guys doing?" Clarisse glowered at me. "Tell Michael not to be a selfish jerk." "Oh, that's perfect, coming from you," Michael said.**

"That's the last thing they should be doing..." said Melonie. "If you can't unite with each other, you won't be able to win."

** "The only reason I'm here is to support Silena!" Clarisse shouted. "Otherwise I'd be back in my cabin.""What are you talking about?" I demanded. Pollux cleared his throat. "Clarisse has refused to speak to any of us, until her, um, issue is resolved. She hasn't spoken for three days." "It's been wonderful," Travis Stoll said wistfully. "What issue?" I asked. Clarisse turned to Chiron. "You're in charge, right? Does my cabin get what we want or not?" Chiron shuffled his hooves. "My dear, as I've already explained, Michael is correct. Apollo's cabin has the best claim. Besides, we have more important matters–" "Sure," Clarisse snapped. "Always more important matters than what Ares needs. We're just supposed to show up and fight when you need us, and not complain!" "That would be nice," Connor Stoll muttered. Clarisse gripped her knife. "Maybe I should ask Mr. D–" "As you know," Chiron interrupted, his tone slightly angry now, "our director, Dionysus, is busy with the war. He can't be bothered with this."**

"_Dionysus_ is your camp director?" asked Leon. He was suspicious. Why was everyone else just _accepting_ that the Gods were 'real' just because the friends of the freak said so?

** "I see," Clarisse said. "And the senior counselors? Are ****_any_**** of you going to side with me?" Nobody was smiling now. None of them met Clarisse's eyes. "Fine." Clarisse turned to Silena. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get into this when you've just lost… Anyway, I apologize. To ****_you_****. Nobody else."** **Silena didn't seem to register her words. Clarisse threw her knife on the Ping-Pong table. "All of you can fight this war without Ares. Until I get satisfaction, no one in my cabin is lifting a finger to help. Have fun dying." The counselors were all too stunned to say anything as Clarisse stormed out of the room. Finally Michael Yew said, "Good riddance." "Are you kidding?" Katie Gardner protested. "This is a disaster!" "She can't be serious," Travis said. "Can she?" Chiron sighed. "Her pride has been wounded. She'll calm down eventually." But he didn't sound convinced. I wanted to ask what the heck Clarisse was so mad about, but I looked at Annabeth and she mouthed the words ****_I'll tell you later_****. "Now," Chiron continued, "if you please, counselors. Percy has brought something I think you should hear. Percy – the Great Prophecy."**

People sucked in breaths of anticipation while Annabeth winced in rememberence.

** Annabeth handed me the parchment. It felt dry and old, and my fingers fumbled with the string. I uncurled the paper, trying not to rip it, and began to read:****_ "A half-blood of the eldest dogs…"_**

"What?" asked Jason. "I didn't read that wrong, so what...?" he trailed off, deciding to keep reading.

**"Er,** **Percy?" Annabeth interrupted. "That's gods. Not dogs." "Oh, right," I said. Being dyslexic is one mark of a demigod, but sometimes I really hate it. The more nervous I am, the worse my reading** **gets.**

_He was dyslexic?_ Thought Natalie. _What else don't we know about him?_

** "****_A half-blood of the eldest gods… shall reach sixteen against all odds…_****" I hesitated, staring at the next lines. A cold feeling started in my fingers as if the paper was freezing.****_ "And see the world in endless sleep, The hero's soul, cursed blade shall reap."_**

The classroom was silent. A couple people were breathing very loudly, wich is how no one heard a steady _drip drip drip._

** Suddenly Riptide seemed heavier in my pocket. A cursed blade? Chiron once told me Riptide had brought many people sorrow. Was it possible my own sword could get me killed? And how could the world fall into endless sleep, unless that meant death?**

(A/N that was really deep Percy. Really deep. Like the ocean! Get it? No? Okay... leave me and my bad jokes alone!)

** "Percy," Chiron urged. "Read the rest."**

"There's _more_?" gasped Sara. It was awful that anyone had to have the pressure of that on them; let alone sweet Percy.

** My mouth felt like it was full of sand, but I spoke the last two lines.****_ "A single choice shall… shall end his days. Olympus to per – pursue–"_**** "****_Preserve_****," Annabeth said gently. "It means ****_to save_****. " "I know what it means," I grumbled. ****_"Olympus to preserve or raze."_**

The classroom was silent; a single thought going through most people's minds: How would Percy get out of _that_?

** The room was silent. Finally Connor Stoll said, "Raise is good, isn't it?" "Not ****_raise_****, "Silena said. Her voice was hollow, but I was startled to hear her speak at all. "R-a-z-e means ****_destroy_****." "Obliterate," Annabeth said. "Annihilate. Turn to rubble."**

"Cheerful."

_Drip drip drip._

** "Got it." My heart felt like lead. "Thanks." Everybody was looking at me – with concern, or pity, or maybe a little fear. Chiron closed his eyes as if he were saying a prayer. In horse form, his head almost brushed the lights in the rec room. "You see now, Percy, why we thought it best not to tell you the whole prophecy. You've had enough on your shoulders–" "Without realizing I was going to die in the end anyway?" I said. "Yeah, I get it." Chiron gazed at me sadly. The guy was three thousand years old. He'd seen hundreds of heroes die. He might not like it, but he was used to it. He probably knew better than to try to reassure me. "Percy," Annabeth said. "You know prophecies always have double meanings. It might not literally mean you die." "Sure," I said. "****_A single choice shall end his days_****. That has tons of meanings, right?" "Maybe we can stop it," Jake Mason offered. "****_The hero's soul, cursed blade shall reap._**** Maybe we could find this cursed blade and destroy it. Sounds like Kronos's scythe, right?"** **I hadn't thought about that, but it didn't matter if the cursed blade was Riptide or Kronos's scythe. Either way, I doubted we could stop the prophecy. A blade was supposed to reap my soul. As a general rule, I preferred not to have my soul reaped.**

"I'd hope that'd go for everyone," said Leo.

** "Perhaps we should let Percy think about these lines," Chiron said. "He needs time–" "No." I folded up the prophecy and shoved it into my pocket. I felt defiant and angry, though I wasn't sure who I was angry with. "I don't need time. If I die, I die. I can't worry about that, right?" Annabeth's hands were shaking a little. She wouldn't meet my eyes. "Let's move on," I said. "We've got other problems. We've got a spy." Michael Yew scowled. "A spy?" I told them what had happened on the Princess Andromeda – how Kronos had known we were coming, how he'd shown me the silver scythe pendant he'd used to communicate with someone at camp. Silena started to cry again, and Annabeth put an arm around her shoulders.**

_If only she was just crying over Beckendorf,_ thought Piper sadly.

** "Well," Connor Stoll said uncomfortably, "we've suspected there might a spy for years, right? Somebody kept passing information to Luke – like the location of the Golden Fleece a couple of years ago. It must be somebody who knew him well." Maybe subconsciously, he glanced at Annabeth. She'd known Luke better than anyone, of course, but Connor looked away quickly. "Um, I mean, it could be anybody." "Yes." Katie Gardner frowned at the Stoll brothers. She'd disliked them ever since they'd decorated the grass roof of the Demeter cabin with chocolate Easter bunnies. "Like one of Luke's siblings." Travis and Connor both started arguing with her. "Stop!" Silena banged the table so hard her hot chocolate spilled. "Charlie's dead and… and you're all arguing like little kids!" She put her head down and began to sob. Hot chocolate trickled off the Ping-Pong table. Everybody looked ashamed.**

"They should," said Jason. They weren't helping themselves by acussing(sp?) eachother. _Drip drip drip drip._

** "She's right," Pollux said at last. "Accusing each other doesn't help. We need to keep our eyes open for a silver necklace with a scythe charm. If Kronos had one, the spy probably does too." Michael Yew grunted. "We need to find this spy before we plan our next operation. Blowing up the Princess Andromeda won't stop Kronos forever." "No indeed," Chiron said. "In fact his next assault is already on the way."I scowled. "You mean the 'bigger threat' Poseidon mentioned?" He and Annabeth looked at each other like, It's time. Did I mention I hate it when they do that?**

_Dripdripdripdrip._

** "Percy," Chiron said, "we didn't want to tell you until you returned to camp. You needed a break with your… mortal friends." Annabeth blushed. It dawned on me that she knew I'd been hanging out with Rachel, and I felt guilty. Then I felt angry that I felt guilty. I was allowed to have friends outside camp, right? It wasn't like…**

"It kind of is." Piper whispered with a smile.

** "Tell me what's happened," I said. Chiron picked up a bronze goblet from the snack table. He tossed water onto the hot plate where we usually melted nacho cheese. Steam billowed up, making a rainbow in the fluorescent lights. Chiron fished a golden drachma out of his pouch, tossed it through the mist, and muttered, "O Iris, Goddess of the Rainbow, show us the threat." The mist shimmered. I saw the familiar image of a smoldering volcano – Mount St. Helens. As I watched, the side of the mountain exploded. Fire, ash, and lava rolled out. A newscaster's voice was saying "–****_even larger than last year's eruption, and geologists warn that the mountain may not be done_****." I knew all about last year's eruption. I'd caused it.**

"He did _what_?!" exclaimed, well, pretty much everyone.

Jason eventually kept reading, eager to find out more.

** But this explosion was much worse. The mountain tore itself apart, collapsing inward, and an enormous form rose out of the smoke and lava like it was emerging from a manhole. I hoped the Mist would keep the humans from seeing it clearly, because what I saw would've caused panic and riots across the entire United States. The giant was bigger than anything I'd ever encountered. Even my demigod eyes couldn't make out its exact form through the ash and fire, but it was vaguely humanoid and so huge it could've used the Chrysler Building as a baseball bat. The mountain shook with a horrible rumbling, as if the monster were laughing."It's him," I said. "Typhon." I was seriously hoping Chiron would say something good, like ****_No, that's our huge friend Leroy! He's going to help us!_**** But no such luck.**

Leon laughed cruelly. "How stupid_ is_ he?"

All of the demigods' and Paul's patience was wearing thin with the boy.

_Dripdripdripdripdrip._ The ice that had been in the door now resembled a slushie, it was slowly melting, but the slush was still filling the doorway.

** simply nodded. "The most horrible monster of all, the biggest single threat the gods ever faced. He has been freed from under the mountain at last. But this scene is from two days ago. ****_Here_**** is what is happening today." Chiron waved his hand and the image changed. I saw a bank of storm clouds rolling across the Midwest plains. Lightning flickered. Lines of tornadoes destroyed everything in their path – ripping up houses and trailers, tossing cars around like Matchbox toys.**

"Who pissed in his Cheerios?" muttered Leo to himself.

About half of the class heard him and stared snickering.

** "****_Monumental floods_****," an announcer was saying. "****_Five states declared disaster areas as the freak storm system sweeps east, continuing its path of destruction_****." The cameras zoomed in on a column of storm bearing down on some Midwest city. I couldn't tell which one. Inside the storm I could see the giant – just small glimpses of his true form: a smoky arm, a dark clawed hand the size of a city block. His angry roar rolled across the plains like a nuclear blast. Other smaller forms darted through the clouds, circling the monster. I saw flashes of light, and I realized the giant was trying to swat them. I squinted and thought I saw a golden chariot flying into the blackness. Then some kind of huge bird – a monstrous owl – dived in to attack the giant.**

"Athena," muttered Annabeth.

** "Are those… the gods?" I said. "Yes, Percy," Chiron said. "They have been fighting him for days now, trying to slow him down. But Typhon is marching forward – toward New York. Toward Olympus." I let that sink in. "How long until he gets here?" "Unless the gods can stop him? Perhaps five days. Most of the Olympians are there… except your father, who has a war of his own to fight." "But then who's guarding Olympus?" Connor Stoll shook his head. "If Typhon gets to New York, it won't matter who's guarding Olympus."**

"He said something smart," stated Piper, looking shocked.

** I thought about Kronos's words on the ship: ****_I would love to see the terror in your eyes when you realize how I will destroy Olympus._**** Was this what he was talking about: an attack by Typhon? It was sure terrifying enough. But Kronos was always fooling us, misdirecting our attention. This seemed too obvious for him. And in my dream, the golden Titan had talked about several more challenges to come, as if Typhon were only the first. "It's a trick," I said. "We have to warn the gods. Something else is going to happen." Chiron looked at me gravely. "Something worse than Typhon? I hope not." "We have to defend Olympus," I insisted. "Kronos has another attack planned." "He did," Travis Stoll reminded me. "But you sunk his ship." Everyone was looking at me. They wanted some good news. They wanted to believe that at least I'd given them a little bit of hope. I glanced at Annabeth. I could tell we were thinking the same thing: What if the ****_Princess Andromeda_**** was a ploy? What if Kronos let us blow up that ship so we'd lower our gaurd? But I wasn't going to say that in front of Silena. Her boyfriend had sacrificed himself for that mission. "Maybe you're right," I said, though I didn't believe it. I tried to imagine how things could get much worse. The gods were in the Midwest fighting a huge monster that had almost defeated them once before. Poseidon was under siege and losing a war against the sea Titan Oceanus. Kronos was still out there somewhere. Olympus was virtually undefended. The demigods of Camp Half-Blood were on our own with a spy in our midst. Oh, and according to the ancient prophecy, I was going to die when I turned sixteen – which happened to be in five days, the exact same time Typhon was supposed to hit New York. Almost forgot that.**

No one new if he was being serious or not as Jason read the last of the chapter.

** "Well," Chiron said, "I think that's enough for one night." He waved his hand and the steam dissipated. The stormy battle of Typhon and the gods disappeared. "That's an understatement," I muttered. And the war council adjourned.**

_ Slosh!_

Everyone jumped as the last of the slush that had been slowly slugging its way down the doorframe fell down completely, leaving a wall of water. It moved slowly, as if the water was _breathing_. Everyone stared at it, startled. Little Annabeth stood up and pushed her way to the door. She placed her hand on the water and peered inside. "I think... I think he's sleeping." That would explain the gentle movements of the water. Also why the ice had suddenly melted when he'd obviously wanted to be alone. She stood up straighter. "I'm going to see if I can get to him." She didn't care that she might drown (ok, she was a little worried about that), she just wanted to get Percy out of that room. Before anyone could stop her, she turned and pushed through the wall of water.

* * *

Sorry about the first couple of chapters, the spacing was weird. But here's the next chapter! Thanks for reading!


	7. Hopefully the Last Filler for a While

MsLadyAmethyst: Thank you my dear! Here is your update :D

First Guest review: Thanks, I try to be original :)

Second Guest review: Umm, I'm not sure why you commented 'Well then'.

The Demigod Gryffindor: Amazing penname! And I will try to remember to do so :)

HPJ-kittycat: Happy belated birthday! Seriously, sorry for the late response.

Phantom Music Lover: Thanks, and sometimes I just can't force myself to write. Anyways, I'm trying to work out a better schedule to be able to update more regularly.

Now on the the seriously overdue chapter!

Recap:  
Slosh!  
_ Everyone jumped as the last of the slush that had been slowly slugging its way down the door frame fell down completely, leaving a wall of water. It moved slowly, as if the water was breathing. Everyone stared at it, startled.  
Little Annabeth stood up and pushed her way to the door. She placed her hand on the water and peered inside. "I think... I think he's sleeping." That would explain the gentle movements of the water. Also why the ice had suddenly melted when he'd obviously wanted to be alone. She stood up straighter. "I'm going to see if I can get to him." She didn't care that she might drown (okay, she was a little worried about that), she just wanted to get Percy out of that room. Before anyone could stop her, she turned and pushed through the wall of water. _  
The water absorbed her, muffling her hearing. Annabeth pushed her way through the sludge-like water and held her breath. Finally, after what seemed like forever, she made it to Percy and knelt down as quickly as the Jello-like water allowed. He looked really peaceful, she thought. The waves gently moved his hair and she reached out to touch his shoulder.  
Annabeth was surprised to find that as soon as she touched Percy's shoulder, she could feel her clothes drying. Tentatively, she sucked in through her mouth, expecting to taste water, but she was shocked that she could actually breathe. She took another breath. And another. Ecstatic, she couldn't help but cheer. She, a child of _Athena_, was breathing _underwater_. In Poseidon's realm!  
A finger pressed against Annabeth's lips and her cheer, halfway out of her mouth, turned into a startled yelp. Thankfully, the finger belonged to the son of Poseidon, not some half-formed monster that had somehow survived Percy's purge. (Hah, accidental alliteration. Awh, come on, it's getting annoying already. Damn it! *sighs in exasperation*) "Shh," he mumbled. "'M tryin' to sleep."  
Annabeth smiled. He looked so cute, looking up at her with half-lidded, sleepy eyes. Wait, cute? Where had that thought come from? She pushed it to the back of her mind for later analysis. "Come on, Percy. We have to get out of here." Just by looking in his eyes, she could tell he didn't want to move. Whether it be from fatigue, stubbornness, or unwillingness to go back to the classroom, Percy Jackson would fight tooth and nail to go back to sleep. But that couldn't happen. Annabeth had to end his self-inflicted isolation before he woke up, or else everything would get a whole lot more complicated.  
Percy whined in disapproval as Annabeth started to pull him to his feet. Why couldn't he just go back to sleep? The water began to harden again as he thought about how much he did _not_ want to leave the room.  
Annabeth sighed and stopped pulling. "Okay, Percy, how about this. We go out there and you can go back to sleep? Make a bed out of water or something."  
He seemed to consider for a moment. Her response was a tired "'Kay", and then they were forcing against the water back towards the door. Finally they pushed through, startling the kids closest to the door. Apparently it'd looked like they were several feet behind where they actually were, due to the water's refracting. (I think that's correct? *virtual shrug*)  
Percy stumbled and caught Annabeth's arm to keep from falling. He then summoned some of the water into the shape of a queen-sized bed and started towards it. Instead of releasing her arm, he towed her with him to the bed. Percy plopped down and tugged her arm, looking at her with hope in his eyes.  
"W-what?" she stuttered, glancing around at the amused expressions of Paul, Hazel, Frank, Leo, Jason, and Piper and the assortment of other expressions on the mortals. Percy's eyes turned pleading, but there was also a message there. _'Please don't make me say it...'_ Hesitantly, she sat. The bed felt solid, firm but soft, like an actual bed. Apparently that was good enough for Percy, because he snuggled into her side and almost immediately fell back asleep. Annabeth looked sharply at Paul, who looked kind of surprised.  
"What do I do now?" She whisper-shouted.

* * *

I LIVE! Thank you to Zeus' Child, who made me finally finish this chapter! Aww, look at that Percabeth... So cute. I think it was OC. Do you? Anyways, updates for this and my HP story will be coming slowly, for I do not have a ton of time :( If people would like to type chapters for me and PM them to me, I would seriously love you forever. If not, then chapters will probably continue to be spaced out. Sorry.  
So I'm thinking of doing this from now on, a question at the end of each chapter. What are y'all's favorite moments in any PJO or HOO book?


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